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Newell Gurus
Checking ride height and questions - Printable Version

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Checking ride height and questions - pairodice - 09-13-2024

I noticed my coach was leaning right (not in a conservative way) … I went through a bunch of threads and found Richard’s most useful information and a list of questions.  I have included the questions and my answers below.  
Can someone please point me to a thread that shows how to adjust the FRONT ride height? 

With the engine running, and the coach in travel mode: 
Does the coach come to the proper ride height? No, rear both 12” front: 14” (need to come
What pressure do you read on the pressure gauges at the front? 100 on Supply; 115 on Brake
If the coach does not come to the proper ride height please describe what it does. 
With the engine off, but the key in the on position. 
Starting with the coach at ride height. DONE
Does the coach stay level? If not describe what happens. Travel mode level, yes (front high, back correct height); 
What happens with the air gauges in the front? Important to comment on all both the brake and supply. Supply dropping about 1lbs per minute on average (I’ve got a leak in the rear but have not located it yet) 
Do you hear air escaping at any location. Not with my normal hearing - need to check with Infinicon later… 

With the engine running and coach at ride height, place the coach in LEVEL mode, but don’t press any other buttons. 
Does the coach stay level? 
What happens with the air pressure gauges? Supply shot up to about 110lbs; and exhausting air from the front; the coach leveled and will stay level; 

Last data. 
Leave the coach in level mode and turn off the ignition. 
What happens with the pressure gauges? 110v pump was on so everything good; turned off 110v pump and waited 5 minutes: Brake: 115lbs Supply: 100lbs 
Does the coach stay level. Seems to be staying level - will see how long it takes to leak down :-( 

The following pictures show: pass side view dumped; driver side view dumped; pass rear height (at the square tube in front/behind the wheel just above/inside the fiberglass trim); driver rear height; pass front height; driver front height; coach pass side in travel mode; driver side in travel mode

RE: Checking ride height and questions - encantotom - 09-13-2024

if it is leaning to one side, then the front ride height is not the issue. there is only one ride height valve in the front and it does both sides together. it is in the middle of the coach at the front axle

tom

RE: Checking ride height and questions - pairodice - 09-13-2024

Yes, I fixed the lean - had to adjust the ride height valve on the driver side and all is well from that aspect. Now the front it just really high… probably why it beats us to death going down I-10!
Do I need to have the coach on jack stands to get under there? (I would assume so since the air might escape as I’m bringing it down on myself!)

RE: Checking ride height and questions - hypoxia - 09-13-2024

On my 2020P coach there is a removable panel in the forward cargo bay which allows access to the front ride height valve.  My experience with ride height valves is that they rarely need adjustment and when they do, the valve is probably going bad and needs replaced.  When the valve is adjusting the air bags completely full, the ride is as you described, it's as if there is no suspension.  I've had that experience.

Tom will probably step in to  give the correct advice for your vintage coach.

RE: Checking ride height and questions - pairodice - 09-13-2024

Jim, that must be nice! Mine is WAY in the middle of the coach up near the firewall (I guess that’s what it’s called) behind the wheels…
I tried to lower the front but after dumping all the air when I tried to put the coach into travel mode it would not raise :-(
I have given up for the day as I need to go back to work. I did drop the adjustment rod about 1/2” but I am not seeing any difference yet…
So the guy at the shop said it looks like I need a new kingpin because one tire leans more than the other - is this a thing I should worry about? How can I test it to make sure???

RE: Checking ride height and questions - cwl1979 - 09-13-2024

So the guy at the shop said it looks like I need a new kingpin because one tire leans more than the other - is this a thing I should worry about?  How can I test it to make sure???


The quickest way to test this is to jack up the front one side at a time and get a large pry bar and try to wiggle the tire with it. if the kingpins are in good shape you should get some tire flex but they should not move, if the tire moves up and down more that 1/4 inch you'll need some new ones.  That's most definitely a replace at a shop item though. For now if you have a way to get to them hit it with some grease and that will tighten things up for a while.

RE: Checking ride height and questions - pairodice - 09-13-2024

So I adjusted the front ride height valve about 1-1/2” down (to get 3” of drop) from the original location and the coach dropped all the way down until the tire was touching the side fender and scraping (on the test drive). I readjusted the HCV back up to original and down about 1/2” and after a joy(less) ride the coach WAS sitting correctly in all four corners with just an inch above the front tire while at the shop. After another ride the back driver side is way up pass rear:11” driver rear:14” pass front:9” driver front: 14” :-(
Any suggestions

RE: Checking ride height and questions - cwl1979 - 09-13-2024

Any chance you may have a weak bag? Look and feel very carefully around the base of the bags and see if they are brittle or if one feels ... breezy... From a commercial driver point of view it's usually a bad bag with wear holes under the roll at the bottom. If not change HCV. Bag will come up to a certain height and that's all it's got. Loses so much air that you can't even hear it. Super frustrating when you 500 miles from cell or truck service at 20 below.

RE: Checking ride height and questions - pairodice - 09-13-2024

Thanks Carl, I’m considering all options at this point - I think my bags are ok (last time I checked) and I do have a leak in the rear but not sure where it is and it is pretty small so far. But now that you mention it I should probably go ahead and buy some new ones… will find a thread with the part numbers…

RE: Checking ride height and questions - Richard - 09-13-2024

Arrrrrrgghhhhhhh.

The last time you had this issue there were electrical problems with HWH panel feeding the solenoids..

https://newellgurus.com/showthread.php?tid=5453

Your front end DOES NOT have kingpins. Stay away from that guy.

Let’s start here. Lower the coach all the way down using the LEVEL mode. With the engine running, put it in travel and wait five minutes. Shut off the coach and now measure.

On the front HCV, it is incredibly sensitive to adjustment because the control arm is mounted on the sway bar and not the actual suspension. There is a huge multiplication factor. A 1/2 inch adjustment on the front may actually result in a 2 inch difference in ride height.

Always measure ride height after lowering the coach and allowing it to come back up in travel mode. Any other method, such as having the coach all the way up and allowing it to settle in TRAVEL will product nonrepeatable measurements due to the hysteresis in the HCV.